Conveyer



CONVEYER /MZZO/fweyg fama/Lon' J. A. ALVEY Filed March 29 1922 July 7, 1925.

DUDDUDDUDD Pasaia Juin, 192s. l l

' UNITED `STATES l, l 1,545,114y PATENT." OFFICE.

V.roam a anvar, or sr. Leurs, mssouar, salomon ro Lvnr Mamrrnoruarno oonrANY, Aor' s'r. Leurs, lussouar. A

` coxvam application ala :nnen-aa,l 19st. serial No. 547,629.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that L'JoHN A. ALvnY, a citizen of the'United States, and a resident of the city of St. Louis and State of Mis. souri, have invented a new and useful Imrovement in Conveyers, of which the folowing is a specification.

This inventionv relatesto conveyers for handling and conveying articles that have been immersed inra coating material and has for its principal object-to provide the conveyer w1th detachable article holders f which constitute means for 'plunging the y and work table shown in Fig. 1;

articles into a bath of coating material and hangers for suspending the coated articles from the conveyer in a position that will facilitate drying 0r hardeningof the coating material during the conveying opery ation. Another object of my invention is to provide means for automatically strip-..

img the article holders from the conveyer. ther objects are simplicity of operatlon, chea ness of construction and compactness of esign. The invention consists in the arrangements and combinations of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

InV the accompanyin drawin which forms part of this speci cation an wherein like symbolsrefer to like parts wherever thy occur,

ig. 1 is a plan view of a conveyer embodymg my invention, a work-table having a basin for the coating material being shown in connection with said conveyer;

Fig.- 2 is a side elevation of the copveyer Fig. 3 is an end elevation thereof; and

Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-section through the inclined chutes which deliver the article holders to the work table.

The conveyer shown in the accompanyin drawing comprises two horizontally space upright end-frames 5 and 6. Each endframe consists of four upright angles arranged in the form of a rectangle and connected by horizontally cross members in the form of plates and angles. Extending horizontally between the upright end-frames 5 and 6 is an endless conveyer chain7, one end of which is supported on a drive sprocket `8 fixed to a horizontal shaft 9 journaled in 11 fixed to a shaft 12 `journaled in bearings fr Y 13 secured to the top of the end-frame 6.

The bearings for the idler-sprocket shaft- 12 are equipped with suitable take-up stems :14 for tightening; the endless conveyer chain to take up slac therein. The u per and lower stretches of the endless conv yer chain are supported between the sprocket wheels 8 and 11 on horizontally extending su porting plates 15 which extend from endrame to end-frame. These plates are rigidly secured to tie-bars 15* by means of angle irons 16. The tle-bars 15* have their ends rigidly secured tothe end-frames 5 and 6 by means of angles 17 and thus constitute means for connecting together the spaced end-frames as well as supports for the chain supporting plates 15.

Arran ed between the end-frames 5 and 6, directly elow the upper and lower stretches of the endless conveyer chain, is a work table 18 having a suitable receptacle or basin 19 formed therein adapted to contain a suitable liquid coatin material. The contable 18. `Journaled in horizontal bearings secured to the horizontal cross members of the end-frame 5 are vertically alined shafts 22, 23 and 24, which shafts are provided with suitable reduction gearing for transmitting mot-ion from the electric motor 20 to the forward drive sprocket 8 for the conveyei` chain 7. The lowermost shaft 22 is provided with a pulley 25, which is driven from the drive pulley of the electric motor by means of a belt 26. The yshaft 22 is a soprovided with a pinion 27 which meshes with a larger gear 28 on the intermediate shaft 23. The intermediateshaft 23 is also provided with a pinion 29 which meshes with a larger gear 30 on the uppermost shaft 24. The uppermost shaft 24 is also provided with a sprocket wheel 31 which 1s 'connected by a sprocket chain 32 to a sprocket wheel 31a fixed to the drive shaft of the conveyer. This arrangement of drive I gearing ermits the conveyer chain 7 to be driven rom the electric. motor 20 A at a greatly reduced speed, the lower stretch of thev conveyer chaintraveling from the endframe 6 towards the end-frame 5 and the uppenstretch on said conveyer chain travelin in a reverse direction.

e conveyer chain 7 comprises a series fof links, some of which are I'provided with site sides thereof. The

, have hardene `its ' ve er chain.

horizontally projecting pins 33.` The links having the pins 33 are equally spaced apart lengthwise of the chain and are arranged so thatsaid pins'project alternately on oppoins 33 of the conve er chain are adapte to support article ho ders in the form 'of wire hooks 34 that are bent into substantially Z-shaped form. The rebent upper ends of the .hooks 34 are adapted to be hooked over the laterally projectin pins of the conveyer chain. and carried t ereby. The bent lower ends of the hooks 34 are adaptedto support they articles 35 during the dippingr thereof into the coating material and wh' e in transit on the con- I The articles are stuck on one en of the supportin hooks and then dipped into a bath of suita le liquid coating material contained in the dip ing tank 33 formed in the work table 18. he hooks, with the coated article stuck thereon, are then hooked over the laterally projecting ins 33 on each side of the lower stretch o the conveyer chain near the rear end of the conveyer and are slowl carried towards the forward end thereof, urin which time the coating will d sufiiciently' to permit handling of the articles. Upon arrival at the forward end of the conveyer, the hooks together with the coated articles carried thereb are removed from the conveyer. The article is removed from the detached hook,

which is then attached' to either the forwardly moving lower stretch of the conveyer chain or the rearwardly moving upper stretch of said conveyer chain. In either event, the re laced hooks are carried by the conveyer to t e rear end of the work table'.

Upon reaching the rear end of the work table, the empty hooks are automatically stripped from` the pins on both sides of the conveyer chain b means of suitable stripping devices. e stri ping devices .comprise a pair of flat stripper plates 36 arran ed one `on each side ofthe conveyer chain below the rearwardly moving stretch4 thereof and provided with inward oinclined portions 37 adapted'to engage the dy portions of the rearwardly moving hooks to deiiect or crowd said ooks and adually force the saine off the outer ends o the supporting pins therefor. Suitable inclined chutes 38 are located beneath said stripper Aplates for receiving the hooks that are stripped oi the pins for delivering said hooks tothe work table within easy reach of the dipping operator who places the uncoated articles thereon, dips them in to the coating material Iand then attaches the hooks to the forwardly moving lower stretch of the conveyer chain.

The hereinbefore described arrangement is articularly adapted for use in handling an conveying Aarticleslin the form of bars of'frozen confection that are dip edible coating material but I do not to be limited thereto as the-particular coating material is immaterial as is also the article to which it is applied. v

Obviousl my device admits of considering ,the articles ina coating material and for.

suspending the coated articles from said pedina!! conveyer, and means for automatically dripping said impaling devices from said conveyer. i

2; A conveyer comprising an endl power-driven member having article impaldevices detachably supported thereon,l

said devices constitut' means for immersmg the articles in a coating material and for suspending the coated articles vfrom said conveyer, means for automaticall stripping said impaling devices from sai conveyer, and means associated with said strip ing means for delivering said article impadin devices to the point of immersion for sai articles.

3. A conveyer com rising aii endle owe'izwirlilvelili memcle 4aving a series of ongi u y spa su rts ro'ecting' laterally therefrom, artic eplioldeiis detachably supported on said supports, said article holders eonstitutin implements for holdil said articles in a ath of coating materi and for suspendin the coated articles' from said conveyer, an means for automatically strli'ppmg said article holder from said suppo s.

4. The combination with a work-table havin a basin therein ada ted to contain a suitab e coating material o a conveyer comprising an endless power-driven. member traveling across said work-table, article holders detachably supported on said conveyer, said article holders constituting im- Elements for immersin the articles in the athof coating material contained in the .basin in said work-table and for suspending ping said impalingdevices from said coii-v veyer, saidmeans comprising inclined plates disposed in the path oftsaid impaling devices. i f

6. The combination with a work-table havin a basin therein adapted to contain a suitab e coating material of a conveyer comprisin an endless power-driven member travellng across said worlstable article holders detachably supported on said conveyer, said article holders constituting implements for immersing the articles in the bath of coating material contained in the basin in said work-table and for suspending the coated articles from. said'conveyer, and means f `forstripping said article holders from said conveyer anddelivering them to said worktable, said means comprising inclined plates dis yosed in the path of said article holders an chutes for receiving said article holders as they are stripped from the conveyor.

Signed at St. Louis, Missouri, this 25th day of March, 1922. f

.JOHN AQALVEY.A 

